Lughnasadh 2014

Walking down the path to the meeting area, I was pleasantly surprised at how cool it was down there.  Usually Lughnasadh is one of my least favorite high days because it is so hot but this year it was very pleasant.  Standing in the meeting area and looking around at our new home it dawns on me how much this place is growing on me.  I love being surrounded by the tall trees and listening to the birds singing above us.  The sun shone down through the trees while a pleasant breeze stirred the leaves.  The ground is mainly covered in a mix of moss and grass with a tall plant poking up here and there.  This place we are now calling home is very peaceful and has a calming effect on the soul.   

Ritual started kinda late this time, but that was okay because there was a lot of socializing going on.  We had a very large turnout this year, it was really nice to see new faces and friends from other groves come and join us on this beautiful day.  We even had an old friend come back and celebrate with us.  The meeting area was filled with people talking and laughing, occasionally a loud pop would happen when the balloon Gen was blowing up and filling with rose-petals would explode. The whole atmosphere was very festive.

This ritual we were honoring Lugh and Ana.  At Lughnasadh we tell the story of the battle between Lugh and his grandfather, Balor.  Part of the ritual is a brag/boost round.  Everyone tells about the best thing that happened to them in the past year or an accomplishment that they are particularly proud of doing.  The proud winner is then crowned and will be Lugh in the re-enactment of the battle.  There were many boosts this year.  In my opinion every one of them was very good and I applaud them. But this year our winner was our Senior druid Rob H.   Rob had a rough time this past year.  He's struggled a lot and through it all he is winning.  Diffidently a champion!

After Rob was crowned came the fun part.  

With the spearing of Balor's eye and the shower of the rose petals came a loud cheer!  Lugh is victorious again!  

Afterwards our omen taker reads the runes.  This is what we got.  Othala - Dagaz - Fehu  A good omen indeed!  

ConVo 2014

Well, we went to our first ConVo this past weekend.  As norm my daughter and I completely stressed about everything for a couple of weeks before the event.  That's nothing new, we still do that before Midnight Flame and we're going on our 4th year of that festival.  So as norm, my daughter is running like a crazy person and I'm procrastinating till the last minute.  By the time we are ready to go both of us are rather stressed.  

The drive there was kinda nerve racking, I really don't like driving in or around Detroit, between the potholes and the crazy drivers, it's not a pleasant experience.  But we made it in one piece and truthfully, it was quite easy to find.  

I have to admit, the way some people were talking about it I really expected a HUGE hotel with trillions (okay, maybe not quite a trillion) people everywhere.  The hotel was actually very nice and there were quite a lot of people.  I think it was around a thousand people coming and going to the events and checking things out.  Of course, I'm guessing on that but at the raffle drawing they called a number that was over a thousand and since that was the number on our badges, it's a safe bet there was over a thousand. Either way, there was a lot of people there.

There was a room for artists to display and sale their artwork.  A good friend of ours had her prints on display.  She does lovely stuff.  It was interesting to look at the different displays.  I liked how there was such a variety, not like going to a crafts show and everyone is selling the exact same thing.  Next year I'm going to have to set money aside just for that room, I'm thinking.

The merchants room was smaller then I was expecting, I won't lie, but there was so much to look at and want.  It's probably a good thing it wasn't as big as I expected.  Of course we had to visit our friends' stall, The Magical Druid.  I really like their items and highly recommend them.  There were quite a variety of merchants, I spent way to much time and money in there. But I bought several things, magical and mundane, that I can't get around here.

I took several classes this weekend on a variety of subjects.  I was very impressed with all of the instructors.  It was a breath of fresh air to take a class from someone who had a good knowledge on the subject they were teaching.  The classes gave me some ideas on how to expand my practice.  They also solidified a few of my beliefs on my magical practices.  I am really grateful for the wonderful people who were willing to take the time to share their experience and knowledge.  

The thing that I enjoyed maybe the most was meeting up with old friends and just chatting and hanging out.  We had several new people come in to check us out, I do believe we may have some new members.  I know there was one lady who told us that we were the only group that actually welcomed her in and made her feel good.  Unfortunately, I had noticed that it was rather cliquey which is rather unfortunate.  It seemed like this is an excellent opportunity to expand your friends and experiences but a lot of people just seemed to only want to stick with the same people doing the same thing.  That was a bit of a disappointment, I will admit that. 

All in all, I really enjoyed myself.  Next year will be even better.  I'm looking forward to more classes, lectures, dancing and meeting more people.